learner007:
So ABUJA EMBASSY is now closed till further notice bah? To think of the stress people in the Northern part will have to go through traveling down to Lagos for interview, that has no approval guarantee, is really sad. All will be well soon

Oh boy! There'll be serious crowd at the Lagos consulate

LagosismyHome:


No transit needed

Okay, thank you?

Has anyone here used Etihad air? Will I be needing a transit visa? The information on their website concerning transits isn't very clear; would appreciate if anyone here knew anything about Etihad transits.

samhardy:
My visa transcript
VISA DENIED AT LAGOS ON 3/08/2018

My appointment was fixed to be 7:00am. As he reached my turn I gathered confidence.

Me: Good mrng
Vo: Good mrng, pass me ur passport & i-20

Vo: what course
Me: Computer science

Vo: why this course
Me: (Na so I start my talk ooo) In our current world, it almost impossible to imagine that someone can live without computer as computers are now part of our everyday life. I also discovered that Nigeria is now shifting her focus gradually from oil to technology so this means excellent job prospect for me upon graduation.
I believe with a degree in computer science, I will be better equipped with various skills I need to express my creativity as my strength & motivation lies in the field of networking & programming. Through my work I ll make a positive change in Nigeria's IT sector (He took time to allow me talk but he wasn't looking my direction, he was facing the computer & was typing)

Vo: Why this school?
Me: The computer science program at SMSU is structured in a way that it aligns with my career goal as I will opportuned to learn multiple programming language & different software package.
The school offer more than just classroom teaching, the school also offer me an opportunity to learn with current technology through the Schwann's IT research center which has a networked raspberry pi device running on Ubuntu Linux operating system and they have several micro computer laboratories running on windows & Macintosh operating system.
SMSU has one of the best student to faculty ratio which will aid interaction with my professors & pears. This means I ll have the opportunity of getting good one on one mentoring with my instructors. So it's good choice for me. (He didn't look my direction, he only nod his head as if he heard me)

Vo: Have u travelled outside your country?
Me: I have gotten any reason to travel outside Nigeria until now

Vo: what are your plans after graduation
Me: As soon as i graduate, I will return to Nigeria and put my newly learnt skills into practice by taking up a job as a software engineer in one of Nigeria's telecommunication companies

Vo: Are you married, do u have kid
Me: Answered No for the both

Vo: Who will be sponsoring your education?
Me: My dad

Vo: what does he do?
Me: He is a civil engineer & he has a construction company

Typed for some minutes & later brought out the blue paper & said you are not qualified at this time reasons are stated in the in the paper.

I want to reapply, pls my ogas in the house, what do I need to correct in my answers so I won't be denied this second time. Pls m opened to critism & correction....

So sorry about your being denied a visa.

I've always felt that saying things like "I will come home and work in one of Nigeria's........" is not an effective method to prove home ties to a VO. Think of it, you're not sure of getting the telecommunications job, you're only HOPING to get it. Thus, the VO is not convinced you'll come home to a job that you're only hoping to get.


Take for instance, you were studying Engineering with plans of coming home to work in your father's Construction company he would have gladly issued your visa.

Just work on that after-grad plans man!

James1997:
Please my interview is on the 13th of this month please my problem is that my bank statements is expired on 15 of May I don't know if that will affect my chance my dad is a busy man he doesn't have time to go to bank for update one please I need reply

Mine was printed in march, and I had my interview in August!

Nahum777:
Of course bro

Save me a ticket then!

sospunky:
Wow congratulations.......i tap into this testimony.
Your interview and advise is quite educative
Thanks for sharing.

Oh brother, good luck to you! I hope you get a VO that will be willing to listen to what you have to say!

Nahum777:
My LDS brother. I am going to Utah Valley. I wish you well bro.

UVU? Oh! I got admitted to UVU too.....I almost attended, just almost!

So, i'll probably see you at General conference in October?!

Ubah1:


Congrats

The passport you went with was stamped with Ghana stamp right?

Yess!!!

Interview Yesterday

Brigham Young University Idaho's I-20


Vo: Good morning. Could you pass your documents please?

I: Good morning to you too!(passes documents to vo)

Vo: what are you studying?

I: Agribusiness and Management

Vo: why this course?

I: in my years of working in my father's farm I've come to know the one problem of Agric. In Nigeria; the problem is we are not producing enough. Do you know why sir? (Said this to get his attention). It is because we lack something called "improved crop variety".....I continued......this means that our crops are not high performing crops. Take for instance, the palm kernel tree in Malaysia is as short as I am, but it produces high year in, year out.(he looked up) Meanwhile, the palm kernel tree in Nigeria is as tall as this embassy but produces very low. This is because Nigeria's palm is not an improved variety.

Vo: who is paying?

I: my father and I have a partial scholarship too.....(he looked at my I-20 to confirm my scholarship claim) I quickly added "the I-20 was created before scholarship was awarded that explains why it isn't written there."

Vo: what will this degree do for you?

I: I currently work for my father in his farm, I will still work for him after my schooling; but this time I won't be doing clerical duties, but will be managing the day to day activities of his farm.

Vo: You've travelled outta the country before, I see!

I: Yes, to Ghana.....during my service as a Mormon missionary

Vo: your brother is in the US too?

I: yes!

Vo: same school you're going?

I: No.....different school....and I think I miss him, I added.

Vo: Do you have some documents for me......maybe something to support your scholarship claim and maybe a bank statement?

I: I passed him both documents and he examined both for a few seconds

Vo: why did they give you the scholarship?

I: They were impressed by my 2 years volunteer missionary service. Plus, Agribusiness is not a program people run to----everybody wants to be a Doctor, a Lawyer...etc., but nobody wants to provide food. I want to provide food and they(they school) was really impressed by my choice of Agribusiness and my impressive essays too.

Vo: your visa has been approved. We'll let you know when it's ready! (I gave him a big thumbs up)

I: do have a great day, I said to him, to which he replied you too.


Lessons learned:

Tell them what they haven't heard, or at least, something they don't hear very often.
If possible, use objects to explain your points; Jesus Christ always used object lessons to make his teachings meaningful.


Vary the tone of your voice; If I am probably explaining that the unsolved death of my sibling has inspired me to study criminology, i'd say this with a soft, cry-like tone.


I feel the VO only types the strong points we make, not our entire speech and you’re probably making sense, or driving your points home when he raises his head up. I think at this moment(when he raises his head) you need to hit him with more points that supports your case. Don't stop talking when he raises his head!

Finally, I believe we should never listen to advisers that tells us to "be brief and talk less" when facing a Consul.
Well, i'd rather talk a lot and get denied than be brief and after getting denied wish i'd said more!

After all has been said, truth is, we cannot control other people's actions/decisions. We might say and do all things right during our interview with the Vo but still get denied in the end. Remember, most of the time, it is not your fault. It is his fault too-----he was placed with the option of making a wrong and a right decision, and he made the wrong one by denying you!

Visa approved today!!!

There is a clear distinction between immigrants and ILLEGAL immigrants, do not confuse the two!
I'd suggest you edit your post to reflect this difference.